Toyota Prius

[sixdogs]

Being a red necked, truck driving, beer swilling knuckle dragger it kills me to say this but I believe the Prius is worth taking a look at. A guy I work out with has owned several. He basically wears them out and then gives them to a neer-do-well relative who really wears them out. I don't think either one has ever had a lick of trouble. I'd be a little nervous driving in the blind spot of a semi tractor trailer but for a grocery getter they seem to have merit.

 

[Kyle_in_Tex]

I'm not knocking them at all. I love both the Prius and VW TDI. I'm just pointing out that they are not the lowest cost solution.

IT, you may be right about a used VW. I need to run the numbers, it's just that I keep coming up against a timing belt change every 1.5 - 3 years which is pricey and kills overall fuel savings. VW should've run timing gears or pushrods IMO.

Prius owners I have a question which could only be answered by a seasoned owner. My 125 mile commute goes like this. Load kids into car and drive to front gate, sit there for 10 minutes with the radio on waiting for the school bus. Then onto the highway for roughly 60 miles at highway speeds 75mph (now the speed limit) with the air conditioner near full blast. The last 5 miles is city traffic stop and go but averages 40 mph. My question is, with the highway speeds at 75, without much battery re-generative braking, what would you estimate the mileage to be? So in effect, I'm NOT a hypermiler.

 

[dave1949]

My 2006 Honda Civic is worth about $4K now. It has 108K miles on it, probably good for another 100K miles with some of the typical parts replaced although it needs nothing now. 40 mpg highway day after day, year after year.

Not a fancy car, no electronic goodies, but I can't imagine a cheaper total cost of ownership for someone who bought it. There must be similar cars models out there for a high mileage commuter.

 

[Travelover]

.......
Prius owners I have a question which could only be answered by a seasoned owner. My 125 mile commute goes like this. ............

I'm not a Prius owner, but I drive a hybrid. As you noted, the real advantage of a hybrid is to recapture lost energy when you slow down. The more constant your speed, the less advantage for a hybrid. In your case, I'd go for a conventional car that gets good highway mileage and use the purchase cost difference to buy more gasoline.

 

[houstonscott]

I get the mileage and Porsche performance in one car.

HS

 

[Kyle_in_Tex]

I'm not a Prius owner, but I drive a hybrid. As you noted, the real advantage of a hybrid is to recapture lost energy when you slow down. The more constant your speed, the less advantage for a hybrid. In your case, I'd go for a conventional car that gets good highway mileage and use the purchase cost difference to buy more gasoline.

This is my thinking but I would like a Prius owner's .02 cents.

Dave, I think your right on track.

 

[dave1949]

For a huge step-up in comfort and space, compared to an '06 Civic @40 mpg, my Mom drives a 2003 Buick sedan. 30 mpg highway. Chevy Malibu from that time period is probably similar. Those are not expensive cars to buy today. If you find one with low miles, like my Mom's--who only drives to Walmart on Sundays :laughing:, that would be a real value for the money.

 

[dave1949]

I get the mileage and Porsche performance in one car.

HS

From what I have heard, one decent BMW repair bill would be more than my '06 Civic is worth. That's really rolling the dice on total cost of ownership just for repairs, let alone the purchase price.

 

[troutsqueezer]

I'm not knocking them at all. I love both the Prius and VW TDI. I'm just pointing out that they are not the lowest cost solution.

IT, you may be right about a used VW. I need to run the numbers, it's just that I keep coming up against a timing belt change every 1.5 - 3 years which is pricey and kills overall fuel savings. VW should've run timing gears or pushrods IMO.

Prius owners I have a question which could only be answered by a seasoned owner. My 125 mile commute goes like this. Load kids into car and drive to front gate, sit there for 10 minutes with the radio on waiting for the school bus. Then onto the highway for roughly 60 miles at highway speeds 75mph (now the speed limit) with the air conditioner near full blast. The last 5 miles is city traffic stop and go but averages 40 mph. My question is, with the highway speeds at 75, without much battery re-generative braking, what would you estimate the mileage to be? So in effect, I'm NOT a hypermiler.

I've owned one since 2005. Just got back from a trip to Lake Tahoe (200 mile round trip) and the mileage was 49 mpg, that's climbing to 8,000 ft. elevation and back down again. For your scenario, I would estimate anywhere from 45 to 49 mpg. The car will get the best mpg if you run it in cruise control on the highway where it will get above 50 mpg average. This is contrary to the published spec which states it gets better mileage in the city. It doesn't, it's best on the highway.

It helps if the tire pressure is kept at 38lbs.

It has no problem cruising along at 80 mph.

BTW, I could have taken my new Corolla up to Tahoe but the Prius climbs hills much better and will accelerate going up a steep hill whereas the Corolla tends to slog down.

It's well known that you don't buy a Prius to save money, although that might happen. I bought it for the electronics (before it was a political football) plus I would rather give my money to the Japanese who were at least trying to come up with something groundbreaking than to keep feeding it to the Arab nations so they could build their Emerald City, Abu Dhabi. :2cents:

 

[txdon]

Prius owners I have a question which could only be answered by a seasoned owner. My 125 mile commute goes like this. Load kids into car and drive to front gate, sit there for 10 minutes with the radio on waiting for the school bus. Then onto the highway for roughly 60 miles at highway speeds 75mph (now the speed limit) with the air conditioner near full blast. The last 5 miles is city traffic stop and go but averages 40 mph. My question is, with the highway speeds at 75, without much battery re-generative braking, what would you estimate the mileage to be? So in effect, I'm NOT a hypermiler.

44 mpg.